Mebane police officer recognized with commendation

By Steve Huffman / Times-News

Published: Tuesday, January 8, 2013 at 05:44 PM.

Nielsen said the timing of the rescue in some ways worked out perfectly. He said the small fire extinguisher he carried in his patrol car ran empty at the precise moment firefighters were running to the car with hoses. Nielsen said he couldn’t have been more thankful for the arrival of those firefighters.

“I’ve never felt so helpless in my life as I felt at the moment that fire extinguisher went empty,” he said.

In other matters handled at Monday’s meeting, council members:

■ Approved the hiring of Mike Apple as finance officer for an interim period. He’s expected to work 15 to 20 hours per week for a period of three to six months.

■ Approved construction of a second entrance to Mebane Memorial Gardens.

■ Heard an update from Josh Johnson, an engineer with Alley, Williams, Carmen & King Inc., pertaining to the Jordan Lake Rules and 2013 recommendations.

MEBANE – Mebane Police Patrol Officer Daniel Nielsen was told to be at city hall on Monday night – his commanding officers making some vague reference to “training.”

Nielsen figured something was up and he was right. He wasn’t wanted for training, but to be recognized for actions he took last May that helped save the life of a driver involved in a single-vehicle accident on Interstate 40/85 at the Mebane-Oaks Road exchange.

Nielsen received a letter of commendation from Police Chief Terry Caldwell. The presentation was made during the monthly meeting of the Mebane City Council.

Included in the commendation was a letter from Assistant Chief Thomas A. Byrd in which Nielsen’s actions were outlined.

“To know when you go home at the end of your shift that you had an impact on someone’s life is a great accomplishment,” Byrd wrote in praise of Nielsen.

The incident that led to the commendation happened about 6:30 a.m. last May 22 when a vehicle ran off the interstate, struck a concrete wall and burst into flames. Mebane police weren’t called to the scene, but Nielsen was on duty and monitoring the radio frequency of the city’s fire department, from which firefighters were summoned.

Nielsen was a little more than a mile away and hurried to the scene of the accident – the first emergency responder to arrive. According to accounts, as Nielsen started up a hill to the vehicle involved in the crash, he heard screaming and saw flames. He retreated to his patrol car, grabbed a fire extinguisher and raced back.

The fire was coming from the engine compartment and burning the legs of the accident victim who was trapped inside.

Though the fire kept burning, Nielsen used his extinguisher to keep the flames off the victim – in the process probably saving his life. The victim suffered second- and third-degree burns to his legs – injuries that surely would have been far worse had it not been for Nielsen’s fast response.

“I feel that Officer Nielsen’s actions were above and beyond the call of duty and that his actions contributed to saving the driver from life-threatening injuries,” wrote Sgt. Paul Davis of the Mebane Police Department in a letter recommending Nielsen for the commendation.

Nielsen, 25, a native of Alamance County, had only been working for the Mebane Police Department a few months at the time of last May’s interstate accident. He said he appreciates the honor bestowed on him, but said the real heroes are firefighters from the Mebane Fire Department.

“The fire department is the one that actually saved his life,” Nielsen said, noting firefighters extinguished the flames and got the victim out of the car. “All I did was buy him a little time.”

Of his response to the accident: “To me, I feel like any police officer would have done the same.”

Chief Caldwell told council members much the same Monday. He said that while he’s proud of Nielsen, he would expect the same of any of his officers involved in a similar situation.

Nielsen said the timing of the rescue in some ways worked out perfectly. He said the small fire extinguisher he carried in his patrol car ran empty at the precise moment firefighters were running to the car with hoses. Nielsen said he couldn’t have been more thankful for the arrival of those firefighters.

“I’ve never felt so helpless in my life as I felt at the moment that fire extinguisher went empty,” he said.

In other matters handled at Monday’s meeting, council members:

■ Approved the hiring of Mike Apple as finance officer for an interim period. He’s expected to work 15 to 20 hours per week for a period of three to six months.

■ Approved construction of a second entrance to Mebane Memorial Gardens.

■ Heard an update from Josh Johnson, an engineer with Alley, Williams, Carmen & King Inc., pertaining to the Jordan Lake Rules and 2013 recommendations.